VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AND CULTURE. 321 



Clarendon* Large, mottled gray, with dark green 

 stripes ; rind half an inch thick; flesh scarlet, sugary, and 

 exquisite ; seeds yellow, spotted with black, and with a 

 black stripe about the edge. 



Souter is striped with pale and dark green, rind thin, 

 flesh red, and of best quality ; seeds white, with a russet 

 stripe about the edge ; form oblong to roundish. 



Ravenscroft is oblong, dark green, faintly striped with 

 lighter green; rind thin, flesh red and sugary; seeds 

 white, with a brown stripe about the edge. The last 

 three are fine varieties of Southern origin. The others 

 are more cultivated in the North. The varieties intermix 

 if grown near each other. The Citron watermelon is a 

 small, round, pale-green, marbled sort, liked by many for 

 preserves. Seeds red. 



Culture. The watermelon likes a deep, rich, sandy 

 soil. Where this plant is most successfully cultivated, it 

 always grows upon sand. The hills should be not less 

 than ten or twelve feet apart in warm climates, and seven 

 or eight at the North. Do not plant until the ground is 

 warm, and cultivate exactly in the same manner as the 

 muskmelon and cucumber. It should not be grown 

 within one hundred feet of other melons, gourds, etc., if 

 you would gather pure seed. Protect from insects as 

 directed in the article, " Cucumber." The melon worm 

 does not annoy the watermelon. 



Use. This is a wholesome fruit, very popular in sum- 

 mer from its beauty and the refreshing coolness of its 

 juice. It is not very nutritious, as it contains ninety-five 

 per cent of water. It is not by any means as nourishing 

 as the muskmelon, and lacks its peculiar rich flavor. 

 The outer rind is used for preserves. In many parts of 

 Europe the juice is boiled into a pleasant syrup, or made 

 into beer. 



14* 



